“This is one of them.”

Surprisingly, these words were uttered by Senate Minority Whip, Trent Lott.

Republican senators are loath to say that political calculations could weigh on their votes, but to GOP leaders battling to prevent their members from supporting the resolution against the troop buildup, politics present an unavoidable obstacle.

“I’m sure with some of them, that’s a factor,” said Minority Whip Trent Lott (Miss.). “But this is a very, very serious matter,” he pleaded. “There are some things more important than getting reelected. This is one of them.”

Trent Lott is like the canary in the coal mine. If he is still tweeting we may have a chance to defeat the resolution against the troops.

Picture, if you can, a Republican senator actually running from the press.

When Sen. John E. Sununu (R-N.H.) saw reporters approaching him last week, he took off in a sprint, determined to say as little as possible about a nonbinding resolution opposing President Bush’s troop-escalation plan, which is expected to come before the Senate today.

“You know where I stand,” the senator, who is considered politically vulnerable back home, said repeatedly as he fled down stairways at the Capitol. “I’m still looking.”

Good to know Sununu is still looking for a spine. I hope he finds one.

What a profile in courage is Republican Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon. Such an inspiration to the troops.

“It’s inevitable that people want to ascribe political motives to this, but I just hope a majority of Oregonians understand when it comes to issues of war and peace, there’s no issue of greater gravity on your heart and mind,” said Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.), who must stand for reelection next year in a swing state.

“Oregonians are patriots and want to fight the war on terror, but they don’t like the way this war has mutated,” added Smith, once a war supporter but now an anguished foe.

Yesterday on ABC’s “This Week”, John McCain seemed to be double dog daring the Democrats……..

“I don’t think it’s appropriate to say that you disapprove of a mission and you don’t want to fund it and you don’t want it to go, but yet you don’t take the action necessary to prevent it,” McCain said on ABC’s “This Week.”

Senator John Warner, who claims he sleeps well at night, in reality, must be having nightmares of Purple Rain in Virginia in the aftermath of an election which turned out Senator George Allen in favor of Jim Webb.

Supporters of the resolution include most Democrats and at least seven, and possibly as many as 11, Republicans, led by Sen. John W. Warner of Virginia, who assembled the compromise measure under consideration. The pro-resolution Republicans include five senators who will face voters in 2008: Warner, Smith, Susan Collins of Maine, Norm Coleman of Minnesota and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska.

Hagel, who is considering running for president, initially supported a tougher resolution condemning Bush’s war policy. Sen. Sam Brownback (Kan.) is the one declared GOP presidential candidate supporting the Warner measure.

Both Hagel and Brownback have no chance of winning a primary for national dogcatcher in any state. (maybe the city of San Francisco) Most people respect leadership but these two senators have demonstrated little if any ability to boldly lead against conventional (but questionable) wisdom.

The big unknown is what a handful of Republican fence-sitters such as Sununu will do. The GOP undecideds include Sens. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) and Larry E. Craig (Idaho), who are also up for reelection in 2008, along with Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Arlen Specter (Pa.), who are not.

I will make the prediction that Scottish Highlander, Arlen Specter will go against the troops and the president as he seems to have acquired a new hobby of being against everything President Bush is doing to protect our country and national security.

But Lamar Alexander and Larry Craig? Lisa Murkowski seems to revel in her independent status so she is probably a goner.

There is more but the gist of the article is that the Republicans are, as usual, not united and more worried about their political status than the war. I never thought I would ever see the compromising, Trent Lott stand out as a leader who understands the most important issue of our day which is winning the war but I am very happy to be surprised.

Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid must not be sure the Democrats have the 60 votes they’ll need to break Republican obstruction and move to a final vote for the resolution because he’s considering bringing in ailing, Senator Tim Johnson to vote.

Confederate Yankee reports that the surge has begun.

Flopping Aces links to an article by Col. Tom Snodgrass that should be sent to every round-heeled Republican.

Michael Yon says Iraq is still winnable.

Greyhawk at Mudville Gazette writes….

To add to the fun, all Republican Senators, including John Warner, have pledged to block the Warner Resolution. Credit them with a great degree of intelligence only if in doing so they at last publicly acknowledge the surge for what it is.

Whatever happens, it’s seems likely that news from Iraq will be prominent this week. Regardless of whether increased “security operations” in Baghdad begin or not, violent acts will occur. Twenty thousand additional troops are going in locked and loaded, and the enemy they’ll confront is well aware of the enormous propaganda value of any action they take this week. As you read these words, American soldiers are counting ammunition, suicide bombers are preparing farewell videos, reporters are outlining stories, and speechwriters are typing furiously away.

As six million people in Baghdad wait and pray.

Hat tip: Michelle Malkin